On November 1st, Bangladesh Bank will launch the National Debit Card as part of an effort to reduce reliance on foreign card institutions and conserve foreign currency reserves.
A spokesperson from Bangladesh Bank stated, “Preliminary pilot activities are currently in progress in collaboration with eight banks.”
Initially, Bangladesh Bank will introduce the National Debit Card for domestic use, with plans to introduce the Taka-Rupee Card at a later stage.
During the post-budget press conference on June 2nd, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar announced the initiative to introduce the National Debit Card. He explained, “In our country, we have been heavily reliant on debit and credit cards from Visa, MasterCard, and other external companies. We lacked our own indigenous card system, which limited accessibility for users. Furthermore, the associated fees were significant.”
He continued, “We are introducing the National Debit Card, a unified card that will be adopted by all banks and financial institutions. With widespread acceptance, we anticipate a significant shift from cash to card-based transactions.”